#and i imagine didn't really have the budget it needed

[abirdie]

Gael García Bernal in Fidel (2002, dir. David Attwood)

Gifs are all 540px wide so you can click to see larger.

[other gael filmography gifsets]

[tankgotstuckinthecircusgate]

i know that when carlo suddenly decided that he needs to marry guy made a whole list in his head n like had a deadlines n shit. like it was some kind of a task he needed to do

[miniimight]

"S'NOT MY BIRTHDAY..." silly girl, thinking you need an occasion in order to be spoiled by them!

with gojo, nanami x fem!reader

notes trying out this writing thing again lol

in previous relationships, you had to deal with the bare minimum. a generic greeting card on valentine's day, a bunch of snacks for your birthday, and a necklace for christmas because 'that's what girls like, right?'

now, with him, it's different. he has no qualms about getting you anything your eyes linger on, no matter the price. he had so much money, he picked things up and swiped his card without so much as a glance at the cost. it baffled you sometimes.

it happened was early on in your relationship. you then quickly learned to just sit back and let him spoil you!!

GOJO

satoru's fingers were laced with yours as he swung your connected arms between you. he inhaled deeply, looking up at the high ceiling of the mall. "today's a good a day as any to throw some cash, don't you think baby?"

you giggle and squeeze his hand. "one or two things should be okay." that's what you budgeted for, anyway.

he rolled his eyes, scolding you for your tiny imagination before allowing you to pull him along to your favorite stores.

it wasn't long before your eyes spotted the store you loved but couldn't afford. your stare was glued to the window display, all the cute tops and pants and bags and shoes and bracelets and...

when he felt your steps slow, satoru glanced at you. you were laser focused on the clothing store—naturally, he sharply turned towards it.

"hey!" you squeaked at the sudden change of direction, and you hurried to match his pace again. "toru??"

"i saw you looking, baby, why didn't you just say you wanted to check it out?" he teased.

you looked over to the side, embarrassed. "i... i don't wanna tempt myself, cus i know i'll gaslight myself into buying something."

he narrowed his eyes, not in scorn but in confusion. "who said you were buying anything?"

"huh?" you chirped, eyebrows furrowing in confusion.

gojo stared blankly at you. you really were adorable, thinking he wouldn't spend his last dime on whatever you wanted, regardless of how trivial it was. a smile pulled at his lips.

"my sweet girl," he cooed. "my sweet, slow girl..."

you gasped indignantly and poked satoru's side, earning a giggle from him. "slow?!"

"obviously, i'll by whatever you want, silly." he tugged you towards the entrance of the store.

"but..." you resisted his pull. "it's not my birthday or anything..."

huh? he pouted. "as if i need a special reason to get you stuff."

"but..." heat creeped up your neck as you reveled in the unfamiliar feeling of being spoiled. something inside you told you that he was just being nice and was waiting for you to shut him down, save him the expenses. "it's not fair, is it? i didn't get you anything so far..."

his face fell slightly as he pulled you away from the busy traffic of the moving crowds. satoru pulled your chin up to face him. "i dunno what's running through that pretty head of yours, but answer me this, okay?"

you nod.

"you want it?" he gestured towards the store.

you hesitated, eyes straying from his face. he quickly squished your cheeks, causing your eyes to widen and snap to his. "—!"

"don't overthink it, pretty girl, just tell me."

"yesfh." you answer dejectedly, muffled against his hands.

"then you'll have it." he told you. "i want you to have anything and everything you say you want. i wanna buy it for you. and being able to hear you say 'my boyfriend got this for me' is all i need in return." he grinned cheekily.

you pouted, looking unbelievably cute in his eyes. he despises the partners of your past for leading you astray, thinking you needed to do something special in order to be appreciated. don't worry, he'll fix that in no time.

he pecked your pursed lips before hugging you. "okay?"

you giggle. "okay."

"yay!! now let's go!!"

by the end of the day, he had to call ichiji to help carry all the bags to the car. he was so proud of you!

NANAMI

kento was your shadow as you glided through the store, picking up things and setting them down.

"oh, this is so cute!" you squealed holding up a tee for him to see.

he smiled, more because of your excited expression than the t-shirt. "it is. you should get it."

you hummed, in thought. your hands drifted over the material, picking up the tag before inhaling sharply. "nah, another time."

he frowned. you'd done this at every store so far, picking up things you said you liked but leaving them behind. he was bewildered. "but... you like it, do you not?"

you winced, hoping this topic wouldn't come up. "i do! it's just the price. out of my budget, you know?" you said, trying to be light. you burned with discomfort. might as well just say you're poor.

kento frowned. "oh..."

"yeah."

you quickly turned away, avoiding the confused look on his face.

"y/n." he called you.

"...yes?" you glanced behind you, seeing him standing over the shirts.

"are you under the impression that you would be paying?" he asked.

you blinked. "oh?" yes, you were, but you were surprised to learn that he had the opposite understanding. "well... yeah."

he frowned, disappointed with himself. "i'm sorry. i didn't intend to make you feel that way."

you stepped closer, rubbing his arm soothingly. "what are you talking about?" you laughed softly. "you didn't make me feel any kind of way. i'm not upset, if that's what you're getting at. i never expected you to spend your money on me."

his frown only deepened. oh, how he has failed. "why not?"

you faltered. how did you manage to make it worse? "i'm not sure i understand..."

kento shook his head. "have you been thinking you'd be using your own money for purchases? this whole time?"

"um..."

"sweetheart, i'm paying. for everything, at all times." he refused to hear anything else, cutting you off when you opened your mouth to retort. "we'll have to circle back to the stores we previously visited."

it was your turn to frown. "kento, it won't be my birthday for a few months! you don't have to get me anything right now."

"what does your birthday have to do with anything?" he asked, genuinely confused. "i don't mean to interrogate you, my love, but i think i am the one who doesn't understand."

"you'd get me anything i asked for?" you shoot back, spelling it out for him. "for no reason?"

"for one reason," he replied. "simply because you want it. it'd make you happy."

warmth spread across your face. "that's two reasons." you mumbled.

he clicked his tongue, exacerbating your bashfulness when he pulled you into his side. he kissed your forehead. "you make me laugh, y/n. i was so confused as to why you weren't getting anything. surely that's not how you usually shop."

he bought that shirt for you, as well as the many things you thought were cute at all the stores you stepped foot in. now, you shop without any hesitations.

© miniimight ! thanks for reading <3

[prince-geo]

literally pleased with almost all of the new atla trailer except as per usual, Zuko's scar, idk why studios are so scared to commit to the intensity of the thing, its supposed to be shocking and obvious and textured and the first thing you see... that's the point, Zuko is supposed to struggle with feeling like it defines and brands him before finally coming to the point in his journey where he defines it.

Hollywood/big studios are known to hesitate or straight up avoid properly and honestly and unapologetically showing people with disfigurements/disabilities/facial differences etc. with the realism they deserve. Which is a shame in general for representation and humanization but ESPECIALLY in this case as its minimization actively harms it's narrative purpose as well

I promise making the scar more intense (shrivel up the ear a bit, make it intrude in his hairline, make his eye in a permanent squint due to nerve damage, for god sake REMOVE THE EYEBROW IT WAS BURNED OFF) will not make Zuko "ugly", (the actor is incapable of looking ugly and also the implication that scars make people too unappealing? yikes) but will actually do the character and his journey justice, not to mention really show Ozai's brutality, another essential narrative tool. Especially when he's bald like hello??? It should be even more stark and intense when he doesn't have hair to distract from it and cover his ear!!!

When transitioning from 2D to live action, of course some visuals are up for interpretation but that usually involved ADDING detail because the constraints of having to stay on modeling frame to frame is gone, not minimizing, removing or airbrushing. Doing Zuko's scar right to me is absolutely essential and I'm disappointed they seem just as as scared to go there as I thought they might. It doesn't have to be gory, if you've ever seen burn victims in real life or in pictures or even cosplayers/artists who are skilled in realistic burn makeup you'd know its possible to balance realism with humanity. It's possible especially with their resources to avoid the "scary Halloween makeup" route while not holding back on the brutality of the original injury.

Budget is definitely not an issue, or "scaring the kids" considering this remake is likely aiming to go a lil darker in tone than the cartoon (which was already super dark with its target audience of nickelodeon 7 year olds so no excuses) Audiences SHOULD be unsettled and upset when they see him but not because he's hard/disturbing to look at but because we are human and do not want to imagine someone doing that to a child.

It's a deliberate choice out of the all too common fear/hesitation to allow someone who is destined to eventually become a protagonist and is meant to be sympathized with to be "too ugly" while this hesitation is very rarely applied to straight up villains (again we come back to media's historic villainization of facial deformity). It's a trend that's always ticked me off in fanart too. The boy's face was melted, for gods sake. Zuko was always portrayed as an attractive boy in the cartoon (fire nation girls fawn over him) even with the intensity of his scar which is something I've always admired! People exist with scars similar to Zuko's in real life, and should not only be permitted to be represented as good guys and/or as attractive when their scars are toned down to be "palatable"

Like I said there's more that I loved than didn't love about the trailer, that can be a whole essay on it's own but I needed to get this very specific vent off my chest because it missed the mark so hard and stands out like a sore thumb in comparison to all the other visuals that hit the nail on the head to me

[russellsppttemplates]

Max teasing graphic designer!reader and Lando because it took them so long to admit they liked eachother

"And the worst thing is that he was so obvious about it and you didn't see any of it!", Max yelled as the four of you sat in the gaming room, you and Pietra spending most of the stream talking to eachother and keeping away from the camera, but your social understanding abilities were being questioned and you had to defend yourself.

"It wasn't that bad, Max", you tried to reason as Lando adjusted your body on his lap, kissing your shoulder before looking at his bestfriend.

"Lando couldn't care less about the accounting as much as he's concerned that Quadrant doesn't go bankrupt, it's as simple as that", Max stated as your boyfriend nodded before he hid his face on your neck, knowing the story he was bringing up, "Lando was not planning to attend the finance and budget meeting, but when you asked if you could be there because you were curious about how it all worked, that guy was the first to go to the meeting room and make sure everyone else sat together and you could sit right in front of him and in the meeting, he started talking about percentages and tax names he had never even heard of before - why's that? Because he wanted to impress you, Y/N!", Max concluded.

"No - c'mon, you're exaggerating", you looked at Max before noticing your boyfriend's blushed cheeks, "really, Lan?", you wondered.

"From the beggining, I knew you wouldn't be swooned by flashy dates or fancy gifts, so I had to really show you I was serious about you and, I don't know, like I was someone worth your interest? You can't imagine rollercoaster of emotions I felt in that meeting, I was so confident at the start and by the time you suggested something about a system I don't remember, I was ready to curl up and cry because I thought I didn't have a shot with you", Lando pouted.

"It's true, Y/N - he went home with Max that day while I was there and he was having a full on meltdown", Pietra complimented the story, "what was it you said? Oh I remember - he was slumped over the sofa like this", he mimicked, "and he was going on about how you'd never look at him the way he looked at you and that he was miserable - he actually said he was miserable", she chuckled.

You gasped at the information before turning around to face your boyfriend, looking for his eyes as he whispered "It's true" before you cupped his handsome face in your hands, "Oh, baby, little did you know I was falling for you by then", you cooed, "I didn't think you'd feel like that for me, though - you could have anyone you wanted and I didn't think Quadrant's most recent hire for the graphic design team would be on your radar", you shrugged your shoulders, kissing his pout, "I wouldn't say I was miserable", you giggled, "but I was quite sad and just tried my best to not show it", it was your turn to blush.

Max cackled loudly as his girlfriend followed along, "Y/N! You had to sew the button on his shirt and I have never ever been in a room with so much tension - you were eating him with your eyes! And your hands were so shaky I was worried you'd poke him! And that time where Lando helped a mother with her child - do you remember? The little one was so fussy and Lando asked if she wanted him to rock the buggy because she needed to take something from her bag! You, Y/N, you looked at him like he was the love of your life, that moment you were not hiding it!", he reasoned.

"Seems we were not as subtle as we thought we were", Lando chuckled, kissing your cheek and pulling you closet to him, "chat also seems to agree that we were pining for eachother for a while, someone says the friendship bracelets video - guys, that was an easy one, why do you think I wanted to do that video so much?", your boyfriend joked as you flicked his ear.

"You said you liked them", you mumbled on his ear, "not as much as I liked getting a proper sniff of your perfume, pretty girl".

(Thank you for sending this in ✨️)

[mediumgayitalian]

okay a few solangelo things i’m curious your take on,

what kind of gift givers do you think will and nico are to each other?

are either of them music nerds? making playlists? gifting playlists? what music do u think they like?

what is their favorite fruit?

do you think either of them keep up with pop culture? are they fans of anything? celebrity crushes? like do you think will would think timothee chalamet is cute bc he lowkey has nico’s vibes and is such a buzzer name for celeb crushes? lolll

and then, do you think nico shamelessly takes will’s sweaters and shirts to wear or secretly swipes them?

ty! love ur blog so much xx

HELL YEAH THANK YOU

what kind of gift givers do you think will and nico are to each other?

i think nico spoils will fucking rotten.

his dad is the god of wealth he is holding NOTHING back. aside from that, he grew up wealthy and spent so so long in the lotus casino. i think he has a rly bad handle on money lol.

however he's such a mysterious guy that i think it doesn't occur to will that nico is actively spending money on him??

like will makes an offhand comment about how he would marry the person who would bring him the mystical rocket launching boba fett. and nico is like word okay and the next day there is a rocket launching boba fett on will's pillow and he's like BRO???? OH MY GOD?????

but he just figures that nico knew someone who had it!! he knows nico is big on figurines & collectibles and has a lot of connections, so he thinks nico just called in a favour.

in reality nico did all those things and also spent like two hundred k lol

basically, nico doesn't even think about it. if he hears a friend express a want that he has to means to acquire...its not even an active choice to him?? he's like well why wouldn't i buy this for them.

and i think this means a whole lot to will!!

he's spent his life in his mom's tour van or a bunk bed. he grew up in two wars. he was responsible for an entire infirmary at 13. he's a nerd and he likes nerdy things but like...collecting takes time. and money he doesn't have, because money isn't really a focus in camp and its not like he's paid lol

so of course there are things that he likes but...imagine being will. imagine having a budget for the INFIRMARY YOU RUN and thinking, like...well the camp has only so much money. i know exactly what these medical supplies cost. i refuse to steal. why would i ever be so selfish to ask for money to be spent on me and the things i like?

and then there's nico, who doesn't need him to ask. who WANTS to give him things he wants, not just what he needs or what he wants for others. what WILL wants. nico will get him.

will on the other hand....he gives away his time like it's free.

he does things for people. constantly. like austin complains about not having anywhere quiet to practice and will builds him a soundproof practice room. you know?

now when nico, who has had no one spend their time on him since bianca....

like his father did not have time for him. even when he lived in the underworld, he was put to work. or else he was bored. it's not like he and hades HUNG OUT, you know?

and of course he had no friends to spend their time on him. even in his first time at camp half blood -- for the first time, bianca didnt have time for him. she chose the hunters for ETERNITY, she said i am done choosing you now. and nico drove percy insane, who certainly didn't have time for him between saving the world. the entire time we saw him in TTC he was being pushed away.

by the time he had hazel, HE was the one pushing himself away before anyone else could. he filled his time so he wasn't waiting for anyone else. besides, through no fault of hers, he and hazel CAN'T give each other as much of their time as they would like!! they live on opposite sides of the country!!

but will.....

gods will. will SEEKS HIM OUT. the first thing will says to him is i have carved out, in my busy healer schedule, three days of time for YOU. not only have i carved out these three days, but in that brief moment of time where i was running around camp, i was thinking about you. you were a PRIORITY and i'm upset that you did not come spend your time with me.

like.....oh my god. can you imagine that? being nico? hearing someone you barely know, at this point, talk about how much time he wants to spend with you? and then as you get closer, he spends SO MUCH time with you!! he makes you a priority!

will walks nico to breakfast and watches him in sword practice and takes out his schedule when nico is making his to make sure they line up. he plans dates and they're FUN and he is so careful to make them enjoyable for nico, too, so much so that he forgets his nerves.

the biggest gifts they give to each other is noticing, i think. i see you, i see what you need and wont ask for, and i care enough to give it to you anyway.

are either of them music nerds? making playlists? gifting playlists? what music do u think they like?

will is the HUGEST MUSIC NERD IN THE WORLD.

he may not have many musical talents himself but music was naomi solace's whole world. you bet your ass it's everything for him, too.

he is teased for his love of country, and he does love country (everybody loves country if you hate country you are lying to yourself, i know you sing along to before he cheats with your whole chest), but he has a VAST music taste.

he is a britney spears stan. i will not be convinced otherwise.

nico, on the other hand, is not nearly as ignorant about music as people pretend he is. y'all he was in a casino/arcade until like 2006!!!!! do you think it was silent in there!!!!! do you think he is not the absolute king of just dance and DDR!!!

however he was, like, 10. so i think he's familiar with a lot of songs but in the way you were when you were a kid, you know?? like i could sing paparazzi w my whole chest beginning to end flawlessly at eight years old, but i would not have been able to recognise lady gaga by name or sight.

i think he and will make somewhat of a game out of it. the first time they hang out, nico is NERVOUS beforehand. like for hours. will said they were going to have a chill day bc he has time off, but what are they supposed to DO?? before they were actively doing stuff together. will was teaching nico first aid basics, or nico was helping him around the infirmary; they were helping rebuild camp together. sure, they were talking, but they had something to focus on if things got awkward or conversation faded naturally.

that is VERY DIFFERENT from just hanging out in person. is nico supposed to have conversation starters prepared? how much silence is rude? is will going to finally decide he's boring? or weird? will is such a hyper person!!! how is nico supposed to entertain him!!

meanwhile will is in his cabin freaking the fuck out to his siblings like GUYS HES GONNA THINK IM A WEIRD NERD DORK LOSER 😭😭😭.....WHAT IF HE SAYS THE WORD SAND AND I GO ON THE ANAKIN SKYWALKER RANT ON REFLEX FUCK KAYLA WHAT DO I DO I DONT KNOW HOW TO MAKE FRIENDS LIKE A NORMAL PERSON HE IS SO OUT OF MY LEAGUE

so he calls his mom 💀

and his mom is like baby....you are a disaster are you aware. and hes like thanks MOM i know i need HELP OKAY

and naomi is like well you got on with my backstage crew just fine. and hes like well yeah we just talked about music that was easy.

...

OH THANKS MOM YOURE SO SMART

and he's like wait nico has spent a lot of time in the underworld...he might not be very up to date!! this'll be awesome. so he stays up till like 3 on the big house computer carefully making nico several CDs worth of playlists.

he makes HOURS of music. way more than they could ever listen to in one day, but he gets carried away. he makes a playlist with his favourite country music, including his moms stuff obviously, with rock music he thinks nico in particular will like, pop punk stuff, regular pop, an entire CD dedicated to the icon herself kesha (whom he knows personally bc she sun backup vocals for his mom when she was a teenager), some musicals, and some iconic european music to top it off. he has a little bit of EVERYTHING.

most important, though, he makes a CD with the top 100 billboard songs from the years 1958 (when it started) to 1985. he doesnt have enough time to do it all the way to this year in one night but vows to work on it when he has time.

when he goes to nico's cabin, he comes with a stack of CDs as long as his arm and chiron's CD player. he's practically sparkling with excitement; when nico opens the door he is already halfway through a sentence lol.

for four straight hours, they just listen to song after song, will pausing after each one to ask what nico thinks. he recognises a lot of them, even though he didn't know their names, but even still he's pretty quiet at first. but as they go on it gets hard not to get caught up in wills excitement, and he dances like such a dork, anyway, is it his fault for laughing? and those four hours pass like MINUTES and suddenly its curfew and will has to go.

this becomes their tradition! will plays a song, nico reviews it. even as they learn how to hang out with each other in different ways, it becomes reflex -- when there's a song playing will looks at nico for a reaction. when they're with others, in public, whenever.

the first time nico makes will a playlist he cries.

the playlist is called sunshine.

will plays on his walkman until its worn right through.

what is their favorite fruit?

at first will thinks nico doesn't like fruit at all because he has to force this dumbass to eat fruit and vegetables. all he eats is like. cereal and sandwiches. it stresses will the fuck out.

he's out here plopping a bowl of fruit on nico's table like eat this whole thing or i'm gonna whoop your ass before scurvy does. (he is genuinely afraid nico is going to get scurvy, although its not a very effective anxiety because hes kind of deeply afraid of scurvy in general and is always trying to push people to eat oranges lol).

nico ALWAYS drags his feet about it. at one point will gets worried that nico just straight up doesn't like fruit and starts fretting about synthetizing supplements.

turns out nico is just, like...a little pretentious. about fruit particularly. in his defense, he has been all over the world. like he's had indian mangoes and algerian clementines okay it is VERY hard to settle for stuff grown in north america as nice as the demeter greenhouses are.

his favourite fruit ever is the lemon though. he had a lemon tree in his backyard when he was a kid that he doesn't remember, exactly, but he remembers how it tastes. will brings him a lemon once and almost as if his hands are working on their own, he cuts a slice, removes the peel and pith, puts it in a jar of sugar, and shakes to coat it, like his nonna would do secretly when he mama wasn't looking. its the best thing he's ever tasted.

will is a fruit fanatic, on the other hand. he steals strawberries every time he walks by the fields. the demeter cabin has to count their blueberries every night because he can and will eat them all when no one's looking.

his favourite, though, and he never ever gets it at camp, is prickly pear. in the summers before camp he would go to the desert with his mom and pick enough to make his stomach hurt -- he's never home when they're in season now, so sometimes when she's free shell drive up to new york just to bring him a box of them. she knows he's busy and cant leave camp in summers but she wants him to have that, at least.

do you think either of them keep up with pop culture? are they fans of anything? celebrity crushes? like do you think will would think timothee chalamet is cute bc he lowkey has nico’s vibes and is such a buzzer name for celeb crushes? lolll

i think all year-rounders are into pop culture just fine, but they're a few years behind. except for music -- will knows music. but things like movies and tv shows and memes, they either get updated from their summer-only friends or they stumble upon in naturally when it's not longer relevant lol.

nico, though, has an encyclopedic knowledge of old pop culture, because the lotus got new tech and games and movies before literally anyone else. he saw back to the future before it was in theatres and it changed his life. he quotes it all the time and no one has called him out on it then, but it is only a matter of time.

(he has seen star wars. he saw star wars before will was alive. but it is 100% funnier to pretend he doesn't know what a galaxy is and watch will's eye twitch when he asks him about luke skyrunner)

and then, do you think nico shamelessly takes will’s sweaters and shirts to wear or secretly swipes them?

yes absolutely. but he's super embarrassed about it at first so he genuinely STEALS them, not just borrows them.

it's a heist and everything. he shadow travels into the apollo cabin at like three in the morning and rifles through will's shelf. when he gets back he panics and shoves it under his mattress, where it lives in shame for four months. will just thinks it must have been an unfortunate victim of some poor sick child or bleeding demigod and writes it off.

after several months, during which nico thinks about the sweater ALL the time but cannot physically force himself to touch, nico finally gets brave enough to take it out from under his mattress. he just stares at it for a long ass time, wrinkling it in his clenched hands. it's just a hoodie, you know?? who cares.

nico cares. obviously.

eventually he gets so annoyed with himself that he just yanks it on expecting to be able to tell himself like SEE you dumbass it's just a piece of clothing it literally does not matter. except.

except.

the hoodie still smells like will.

somehow.

and that is.

well.

he would rather dunk his head into the river of fire than admit it, but he melts. the hoodie is old as hell and worn and so so so so soft, gods, no wonder will wears it all the time. he never wants to take it off ever.

for weeks, whenever he's alone in the cabin, he wears the hoodie. it stops smelling like will pretty quickly but he doesn't mind, it's still the most comfortable thing ever. it becomes second nature to walk into his cabin, throw off his jacket, and tug the hoodie on, wearing it to bed.

on one night, and of course it's the hermes' cabin fault, everyone is rushing out of their cabin to see what the fresh fuck is sounding like twenty four fire alarms at once and also a nuclear explosion. nico, in his haste, does not take off the hoodie.

will, whipped, makes sure his siblings are okay and then turns immediately to find nico. he Sees The Hoodie. nico Sees Him See The Hoodie. nico tries to flee.

will has longer legs and also spots a teasing opportunity, so hera herself could not stop him.

will teases him to pieces but is also visibly pleased. the next morning nico finds another hoodie of will's hung over his desk chair.

he wears will's hoodies all the time.

THANK YOU FOR SENDING THESE IN I HAD SO MUCH FUN

[apomaro-mellow]

King&Prince 8

Steve was glad for the boots, but he wasn't about to extend any gratitude to the king for the bare minimum. He was still essentially a prisoner. It begged the question of why he wasn't in a cell anymore, but Steve wouldn't complain. His current situation was a lot better. But the boots came with a price and the cost of having them was apparently following the king around.

"How's your foot?"

"What?"

"Your foot from the-the cut didn't look too bad and you're walking now so...?"

Steve's eyes narrowed. He didn't understand why the king sounded so nervous. "My foot's fine. I can walk. I was able to walk yesterday, but you wouldn't hear of it. Do I look made of glass?"

King Edward paused in the hallway. "....No, you don't."

"Good. Because I'm not. I'm not going to break from some little cut or anything you've got planned for me."

"What do you think I have planned?"

"I haven't the clearest idea", Steve said. "But I'm not fragile. You can do your worst-"

"My worst?", he chuckled. "Little prince, you haven't seen my worst. You haven't seen my bad side at all. But maybe it's about time you've witnessed the worst of your father."

Steve was given a coat and he was led outside. The skies were cloudy and the air was crisp, but the frigid atmosphere was beginning to melt away. It made Steve realize how long he'd been locked away. The frost was melting and spring would be here soon.

Wait...

"You people have warm weather here? You have spring and..." He almost said 'sun' but to do so seemed ridiculous now.

"We get all four seasons here, you know, when the royal budget allows it."

That almost sounded like a joke. Steve frowned. He didn't like when his ignorance was thrown back at him like that. But really, how could he know otherwise? This was supposed to be the land of darkness. Where the wrong shadow could be filled with teeth. Everything was out to kill you here.

The king led him to the stables and for a moment, Steve saw hope. If he got a horse, he could get away. Even if the king gave chase, he could get pretty far with a horse. And Steve was justly proud of his riding skills. His hopes were dashed when the king only asked for a single horse.

"Am I to walk beside your horse wherever we go?", he asked, arms crossed. He imagined being paraded around, perhaps led on a leash like a trophy of war.

"No, Harrington. I expect you to ride with me."

Steve was so stunned, the horse was saddled and the king had already mounted by the time he came back to himself.

"You...you can't be serious! I can't-you can't expect me to-"

"Oh, I do. Now hop to it. We have a lot to see before it gets dark."

The thought of being outside the castle walls when night fell was what prompted Steve to mount the horse. But even so, he refused to touch the king. He instead, dug his fingers into the part of the saddle he could find purchase and held tight with his legs.

"You're going to need to touch me eventually."

"Over one of our dead bodies."

It occurred to Steve how easy it would have been to kill him like this. He'd kept a utensil with the idea of using it to threaten someone before. Why hadn't he done it again? Even just a fork could be deadly if placed in the right area. And here, the king who had terrorized his family was riding with his back to him. If he had just the right thing, he could have ended it all now. But he was without a weapon. And Steve wasn't so stupid that he thought he could choke out a monarch right here in the courtyard and get away with it.

It wasn't easy to ride with barely a grip on anything, but Steve's legs were nothing if not strong, and they helped keep him upright as they left through the castle gates.

"Is that Eddie?", Robin noted, watching from a window.

"Sure looks like it", Gareth replied.

"But he's riding so slow?"

Gareth took a closer look and his eyes bugged out of his head. "Is he riding with the prince?!"

Robin's eyes narrowed. "I mean, I did tell him to be gentle with the guy. It's nice having some actual muscle that I can boss around. I didn't think he'd take me seriously."

Back outside, Eddie was steering the horse carefully and cautiously. He wasn't trying to give the prince special treatment, but he didn't want him flying off the back of the horse either. The road from the castle led right to the capital city, but Eddie didn't want to go there. Even looking like he was now, Steve would attract attention simply because he was riding with the king. He wasn't in the mood to prevent a stoning.

Instead, he took them off the path, to the forests that spread out over his land. Steve was blessedly quiet during most of the trip, probably taking it all in. From his question about the weather, Eddie surmised a unhealthy dose of propaganda was fighting against being a first hand witness. Eddie had heard all the scary stories that people told to explain his existence, his connection with his creatures, and his kingdom in general. He could probably count on one hand the things people got right.

"I've been fighting with your family for a long time. Do you know why?"

Steve blinked, surprised by the question when they had been riding in silence. "Because we've always been enemies."

"But do you know why?"

Steve's brow furrowed. "Your kingdom sprung from the darkest depths to challenge ours. If we left you alone, we'd be consumed. All you want is destruction. To turn everything into a desolate wasteland."

The king chuckled. They got deeper into the forest. With how cloudy it was, the thick of the woods began to get darker. Eddie didn't need to ask if Steve's mind had been changed. The evidence was already presented. If he was too stubborn to see it, he'd be a lost cause. All Eddie needed to see was how he'd react to the actual monsters used to scare and frighten.

There was a cave ahead, pitch black on the inside. The horse stopped before even Eddie ordered it, sensing what was within.

"Your people have always been afraid of my kind. And I can't fault them for being afraid of what they don't know." He dismounted and held a hand out for Steve. Steve ignored his hand and got down himself, doing his best not to stumble. Between his bandaged foot and slightly numb legs, he somehow managed.

"We know enough."

"Do you? So you've seen and can identify all the different creatures under my command?"

"I don't need to identify a monster. I just need to know how to kill it."

"And there it is! Knowledge in the name of decimation, instead of knowledge itself. Or, if you can imagine, progress." The king cackled and Steve felt like he was being made fun of again.

"Why did you bring me here? What's in the cave?"

"I think you already know, Harrington. You're smarter than you look." Eddied took the horses reins and tied it to a tree off to the side so it wouldn't run off.

For a split second, Steve thought about the numerous rocks on the ground and how he could just grab one and-

Why did he always have these thoughts? How often had he stopped himself from being more violent. Every moment that went by without Steve physically assaulting the king, he heard his father's voice calling him useless and weak. If his father and been captured, King Edward would be dead by now. His father would have never been taken at all.

King Edward went to the mouth of the cave and reached a hand out. There was a chittering sound, a creature coming forth. The hairs on Steve's body stood on end and he reached for a sword that wasn't there.

"If you've brought me here to kill me-"

"Shh", the king shushed, but it was unclear who he was speaking to. To Steve? Or to the grey, four legged thing coming out of the black. The king knelt, hand held out, letting whatever it was, get closer to him. Steve had seen drawings, depictions of what lurked in these lands. But nothing prepared him for how the face opened slightly, revealing a hint of the rows of teeth that lied within. It was like a flower made of nightmares.

Steve had been frozen in place as he watched the king pet the creature like it was a dog.

"Tell me, prince. Do you like spiders? Or rats? Or even wasps and flies?"

"Those are all pests", Steve answered, though his voice wasn't as firm as he would like it, guard up and attention all on the two monsters before him.

"And yet, each of them as a specific niche in our world. A role to play in our ecosystem. And it is our ecosystem." The king turned his body slightly to look at Steve, taking in his tense stance. "You can relax. If my intention was to kill you, I wouldn't have wasted my breath talking to you."

"As if anything you do has a rhyme or reason. Nothing about you or this kingdom makes any sense!"

"Or is it that you refuse to see reason?" The king sent the creature back into the cave. "It's about time you take the blinders off and see my kingdom for what it is."

Steve shook his head. "A snake may very well be part of an ecosystem but its venom is still dangerous. Killing those things before they over take us is the only thing that makes any sense. That still makes sense."

"And I could say the same about your people. Kill them all and snuff you out before you can destroy my kingdom and my people."

"Then why don't you!?"

"Because that's not what I want!"

His words echoed between the trees. He stepped towards Steve but the prince stood his ground. If this was where he died, he'd do it with his head held high. The king didn't stop until they were toe to toe.

"I'll say this for your benefit. If I wanted to kill you, I would have done it the by now." His eyes glanced at something behind Steve.

Curious and confused, Steve looked around to see a horde of those grayish monsters assembled behind him and in his shock, he nearly jumped into the king's arms, hands clinging to his clothing.

"Didn't take much for you to touch me after all."

Steve's blood went from running cold to being startling hot. So hot his hand moved before his brain. The crack of his hand slapping across the king's face echoed.

Part 10

Tag Team

@thesuninyaface @only-evanescent @snakeorsquid @ignoremyworld @theclichefortunecookie @goodolefashionedloverboi @just-a-tiny-void @0body0disphoria0 @cinnamon-mushroomabomination @samsoble @jamieweasley13 @y4r3luv @xtkxkrzrizir @un-knownperson @greekgeek24 @justdrugsformethanks @potato-of-the-lord @notaqueenakhaleesi @swimmingbirdrunningrock @queenie-ofthe-void @nebulainajar @lil-gremlin-things @nicememerino @robininblue @hornedqueenofhell @anne-bennett-cosplayer @moomkin77

[888-fr]

WHY I DON'T RETIRE MY SKINS: an essay

Disclaimer that I'm speaking from a point of being established here, because not everybody can afford to run their skin shop like I do. I don't judge less established artists for needing to limit their skins because they can't afford to print a run with only 2 people on it. I'm also not judging anybody who does retire their skins after a set number of prints - whole different matter! I'm giving an opinion piece based on my own personal thoughts about running my own skin shop.

Okay, now that's out of the way. I really dislike the idea of time-limiting my skins. There's just no actual justification for me, as an established skin artist, to limit skins I know will sell... aside from prestige, and putting buying pressure on my customers. So there's a couple of reasons I don't like that:

1) Erodes trust in the artist.

Yes, I could probably make more money if I kept my skins limited so people HAD to pick up my skin on release. Maybe even all 4 colors of the skin, including the one they don't really keep in their hoard. Just in case they want it down the line but it won't be available anymore.

Is this good business practice though? Do I want people to start feeling panicked every time I ping for a release, because they just picked up a new project and really really CAN'T afford to be buying skins right now but there's 5 colorways of my skin available and they'll probably be resold for 2kg as soon as they retire?

Personally, no! I want people excited when I ping, not feeling dread in their hearts and budgets. I want people to be thinking: 'Awesome, a new skin! I can't afford that right now but I know he always keeps a few on the AH at print price even after preorders end. Even if I can't buy a skin just this moment, I'll be sure to keep an eye on his thread for when I have gems again.' Or: "Awesome, a new skin! This one doesn't appeal to my lair aesthetic, so I will just nod and smile. I don't feel the need to buy it in case it gets popular for resale, because it will always be on the AH for print price."

People tell me about unsubscribing from GASP because they get anxiety being pinged for skins they want but can't have. So I want people to stay on my pinglist because there's no pressure on them whatsoever to purchase anything. It'll always be here, okay? In the meantime, just enjoy the art, maybe preview it on a scry or two. I'll be here if you're back in three weeks, or three months.

2) Passive income!

I lied. I probably would've made less money time limiting all my skins than by keeping my skins restocked. A couple of reasons for this:

- My earlier skins sold worse. This isn't psychology, it's just numbers. Some of my most popular stock were made early on in 2021/2022. I didn't have that many sales then, so could you imagine if I had retired them immediately after that? There's 230something copies of SAILOR'S WARNING out in the world right now. If that skin was time limited after preorders died down, I would've sold "only" 50 forever.

- People see my shop stock whenever you ping for a new releases. I get 3-4 sales off auction house whenever I release something new and people check my front page. It's not a lot but it's consistent.

- It's a win-win situation, okay? If a skin is popular, there's no reason to time limit it to drive up sales. If it IS popular, then people are going to see it on other people's dragons, go "damn that's a nice skin," and maybe do an AH search for it. And if there's a cheap print price copy available, they're gonna buy it.

2) Reprints are easy!

It was a lot more annoying to keep track of queue numbers and inventory back when reprints had to go through regular queue for a week. Did I put in 10 copies of SUNHEAVEN already? Wait, are my kitsune aethers back yet? How many of MOLOCH are still listed?

Now I can put in a blueprint and get my reprint instantly. No fuss at all.

3) I don't want to buy into the 'this is a retired skin' hype...

This is just personal preference. It makes me feel a little bad when a public skin I made is popular and people can't afford to have it. I'm not judging anybody who does like it when their skins are rare, special, and sought after.

It's just... I get that part of my brain scratched from my customs. They're gorgeous, they're 5 prints, they're on the AH for 30kg if you really want one. Most importantly they're niche and high coverage enough that even if someone hadn't paid me to draw an exclusive skin specifically for their dragon, they'd never do well as a public skin anyway.

Here are some tips for people looking into keeping their skins unlimited:

- You don't need to do it like I do.

Blueprints are expensive. Even I don't have my entire catalogue stocked, only the ones I noticed always have reprint requests. For example, only SAILOR'S WARNING out of 4 total colors for my impm skins is kept stocked because the others don't sell enough to justify it.

If you can't afford to stock them 10 at a time, have the customer provide the blueprints. Shelving your skins but having them be reprintable with a BP and a fee (350g is good for 850g print prices; remember, 500g of that went to you purchasing blueprints in the public run, so it doesn't make sense to charge customers a whole 850g when they're already providing the blueprint) is a good alternative to permanently retiring your skins. You don't get a ton of people who can afford that, but the option is there for people who want it.

- Notice which skins sell!

If you already have a good amount of skins in catalogue and have trouble figuring out which ones to begin stocking, you can start by checking in with your pinglist. Poll them and see which ones you'd want to rerun.

- Don't have so many recolors.

It's a law of the universe that they more recolors you have, the worse they sell collectively. I usually do 2, no more than 3. If you have to time limit your skins to get 6 recolors to hit print, then it's time to cut those recolors down.

There's reasons for this: it's choice paralysis, people may want 'complete sets' and will skip out if you're making that complete set cost 4kg total, and it just plain doesn't make sense for very similar color schemes to cover 4 different skins. Feel free to print personal recolors or have custom recolors open.

[duchezss]

I've taken a bit to try and assemble my thoughts of jwct, and frankly I still don't know how to feel. Not in a "oh that was bad" kinda way, but in a "that was life changing how can I move on" kinda way. So I'm gonna do what I do best and just ramble on here, you know me. Spoilers of course.

Overall thoughts:

Holy cow the animation!! Not to say jwcc was ugly, but you can instantly see the budget differences. The lighting was gorgeous and the sequences were great. It was just so clear how much love was poured into every scene, the thought behind every move was so clear.

The story was so engaging and good. I thought I was gonna get tired of the "picking everyone up" trope, but it worked so well. I think the difference is this show knew how to take it's time. Ben and Darius had a few episodes to themselves, then Sammy and Kenji were given time to express their grievances. Hell we didn't even get to Yaz till ep 6 and I loved that. The dinosaurs were great too, and the overall plot was just amazing. I loved how it all slowly enfolded and how it was clear they had only scratched the surface with what they found out.

The voice acting was great as always, but it did kinda make me emotional at first to hear how much Paul had grown up. Getting used to Kenji and Brooklynn's new VA's was kinda odd, especially for Kenji, but by the end I was mostly cool with them.

The characters (and trust I'm gonna talk about all of them individually in a sec) were just superb. Their overall maturity and growth was outstanding, especially seeing how their trauma really effected them all differently. All of their arcs before and throughout the season were simply breathtaking. I think this season might be the best in terms of balance, it handled it's action, humor, and emotional moments so well.

This kinda relates back to the animation, I can't explain it, but they all just felt so much more human this season. Everyone's body language was so fluid and lifelike. They would talk over each other and mumble, they would hunch and roll their eyes and all of this sounds normal, but it really stood out. I think it's safe to say the animators really popped off this season, the direction was so clear this is truly a masterpiece. Also I felt like all of them were so touchy and I loved that so much. Like yes hug, hold hands, grab shoulders, pat on the back, I LOVE.

Characters:

Darius, my god Darius. Of course I've always loved him, he's an amazing mc and he is just so lovable. That being said I generally couldn't get over how much I loved him this season. He blew me away in ways I couldn't have imagined. His grief is so understandable and the way he shifted his ideology on dinosaurs because of Brooklynn was just heartbreaking. The way his character was handled was amazing, and it was wonderful to see that the writers do know how to let the others shine while still showcasing that he is the mc. I was also so in love with how sassy and witty he was, like when did he become so funny? His vulnerable moments were just as good and I loved how they showed his anger and frustration as well. His arc about learning to accept his grief and his regret was so poignant and beautiful. It's clear he needs a shoulder to cry on and yet he still puts everyone first, god I didn't think I could love him this much. He was easily the best character this season, I feel like they FINALLY showcased how amazing he is, just 10/10 no notes they ate.

I was kinda shocked by how goofy Ben was, but man I'd be lying if I said I didn't love it. Still can't get over how tall he is, and while I hated his design at first, it's really grown on me now. I really don't get how a lot of people are saying he felt like a shell of himself, cause frankly this season just cemented him as one of my favorite characters ever. He was kind, caring, understanding, humorous, he cracked jokes and messed around, but also got emotional and real. Him being a conspiracy theorist and living out of a van just makes sense, and the way he's the opposite of his germaphobe self now is hilarious. It was also interesting to see him as the meditator since he was the only one that got along with everyone else. He tried to help Darius with Kenji, he tried to give advice to Yaz about Sammy. It was just so lovely to see him so content and yet still himself? His scenes with Bumpy were so sweet and sad I can't stand them. Also I'm kinda obsessed with the fact that he's so big yet sucks at fighting and defending himself...king. I loved his mini arc about almost regressing on his fear, and how he grew from that. Ben ily light of my life, still the goat I fear.

Sammy's whole story just felt so heartbreaking. When they found her on the farm all alone it hurt me so bad. The way her family was her whole world and now they aren't on speaking terms? I hope the writers explain a bit cause I just can't fathom why? And Yaz moved away and she was really all alone. The way she approached her grief and her whole life in denial, and how she refused to accept anything was so heartbreaking. It hurt even worse because despite all of that pain she was still her. She was headstrong, kind, and passionate, for people and for dinosaurs. I did love how they still showcased her flaws and weaknesses. She had a hard time treating Yaz differently, but she also just wanted someone to actually be there for her. It's so clear she's tired and wants to be the one taken care of for once. Sammy stories feels heart wrenching in perhaps a more subtle way than the others. I really loved the direction the writers took her in this season. They showcased so much good and left us wanted more and ugh someone just give her another hug please.

If there's one thing the writers can be consistent on is making me despise Kenji. He was annoying me at first because of how he was approaching things, but he really grew on me by the end. He was this season’s punching bag and it was so heartbreaking. Brooklynn died and he blamed Darius and it's like he couldn’t escape his anger. It's interesting to see how him and Darius secluded themselves in different ways, and the way he still calls their mom? Oh I'm gonna cry. Yes Kenji is mad and he has every right to be, but it's clear his anger is misplaced. The whole scene with his father was so sad for so many reasons. Yes Kenji didn't like his father, but he literally watched him die. His breakdown was so painful to watch. I like how we can see Kenji kinda mature again over the season. It's as if he's relearning that not everything is in his control, and he shouldn't dwell on that. Sometimes his VA sounded too uninterested or nonchalant, which is a shame because the thing about Kenji is he pretends not to care but it's really the opposite. I am intrigued to see where this show will take his journey.

We took a while to get to Yaz, but I'd say it was worth the wait. I liked how this series didn't shy away from talking about her ptsd, and it took it even a step further by exploring peoples ways of coping. It's also interesting to see how fear has driven Yaz and how that has effected her relationships with all of them, but particularly Sammy. She's trying so hard to do better, but healing isn't linear and building a glass house around yourself can only do so much. I really hope they'll let us see how all of this is effecting her next season, because for someone is deathly afraid of dinosaurs this season put her through the ringer. That being said, I think there's no denying the bravery she showed. No matter how terrified she was she was always there for her friends. When Sammy needed her she knew how to calm her down, when her friends needed her help she let her instincts drive her. She even learned to let herself enjoy the moment, adding humor to trying to make the best of things. I feel for Yaz and I want to see her find comfort in her friends again, because she also just needs a hug.

Character: five stage of grief

While writing this I stopped and realized that in a way all of them really represented the five stages of grief regarding Brooklynn and just their life in general. So I wanted to take an interlude to talk about that for a moment.

Denial: Sammy - It's clear that Sammy has been trying to deny anything and everything, if only to pretend all of her problems are nonexistent. She doesn't want to believe that her family won't talk to her, and that Yaz won't either, and that her friend is just gone. Denying makes it all of it easier and so she makes herself busy so she won't even have a second to think about it all because then maybe she'd have to accept it.

Anger: Kenji - He's blaming everyone, especially Darius for Brooklynn's death. He blames the Allosaurus and he blames his father and through it all his anger never dwindles. Eventually it's all too much and he lets his anger become sadness, but it's clear his frustration and aggravation are not exactly gone. He can forgive but still feel mad at his situation and I think that's ok.

Bargaining: Yaz - Her's almost borderlines on denial like Sammy, but I think it's a little different. Because unlike Sammy she thinks everything is ok. She's convinced herself that this dino free island is fool proof and if she hides away like this nothing bad could ever happen. Obviously she comes to find out this isn't true and she has to accept the fact that her reassuring herself can only do so much. She has to face her fears, and boy does she.

Depression: Darius - From the get go we knew Darius wasn't doing too good. He's locked himself away in his bunker, cut off everyone, and had just become obsessed with catching the Allosaurus. Loosing Brooklynn was hard on all of them, but it's clear he took it the worst. It also didn't help that Kenji blamed him so much, so he fell into this hole. It's not the typical signs of depression, but his behavior is so different than before. Old Darius would have never cut everyone off and reduced dinosaurs to simple killers.

Acceptance: Ben - He's perhaps the only one that can speak so plainly about Brooklynns death. He constantly reassures Darius that it wasn't his fault and he's the one that rallies all of them together. His acceptance of her death is what allows him to put the pieces together that someone is after them. Of course he still mourns her, but the difference is he wants to get her justice and make sure all of them are safe as well.

Relationships:

To get the elephant out of the room THANK GOD brookenji broke up. I know they have a lot of shooters but I have and will never support or understand them. They just didn't work and had like zero chemistry. I really hope they stay broken up please writers I can't take it anymore. That being said I was pleasantly surprised Kenji's whole character wasn't just about Brooklynn. Yes she was a big factor, but without her there it's like he could be his own character again. That was always my biggest gripe with s4-s5 brookenji. I couple should not be reduced to their partners, they need to be their own person too.

Yasammy you will always be famous. The two of them were absolutely wonderful this season. Their fight was so warranted and valid and I loved that both of them were right in some ways. It's never black and white and it's up to communication to resolve those issues. The two of them are just so in love, they are actual soulmates like I can't. No notes, I think their relationship is proof that you can balance a couple and the individual. Sammy has her problems, Yaz has her problems, and together they can be a mess, but that's what so wonderful about it. The scene with them after they got out of the van was generally so beautiful I LOVE THEM.

Darius "I was in love with Brooklynn" Bowman....I USED TO PRAY FOR TIME LIKE THESE?? When I tell you I screamed I mean it so bad, I almost fell out of my chair. I know a lot of people aren't a fan, and they think it reduces their friendship, but I disagree. I think Darius still would've been heartbroken, but this just adds a layer. I also love it cause it's just so messy, and I think that makes it feel more real. What do you do if you love your brothers ex? I have been a dinostar defender for years, and I think there's no deny how much they mean to each other. I know he said Brooklynn didn't replicate his feelings but until we see the scene I'm gonna deny that. I think she rejected him because she didn't want him to get hurt in her investigation, that or she doesn't want to hurt Kenji. Let me just say writers you have a chance to get this all back on track PLEASEEEEE do not mess it up I can't take the heartbreak again.

Ben and Darius' friendship was kinda the best thing ever and I wasn't expecting it at all? I know they've had a rocky relationship before but this was so playful and I loved it so much. The way they goofed around and got into trouble, the show couldn't handle them together all season I guess. I also love how tender it was. Ben was so patient with Darius and it was clear he only wanted the best for him. Darius was just as patient with Ben and he helped him through his little paranoia relapse. They were such a good time and a blast to watch like the amount of times the two of them had me busting out laughing was insane.

Sammy and Ben duo oh how I've missed you. Another one I really didn't expect but they were so lovely. I loved how much they messed around yet they also dropped everything to commit a few crimes. Ep five was full of them and I loved it so much. Also the way Sammy constantly defended Ben was so special to me, that girl knew how to throw a punch lmao. Nothing too crazy, but so welcome and sweet. Also the way Ben was terrorizing Sammy on the phone with Yaz, peak cinema.

MIGHT AS WELL KILL ME NOW KENJI AND DARIUS. WHY are they always fighting Kenji don't make me mad. I loved their relationship so much. The way Kenji was so angry at Darius and yet Darius held him so close while he had a breakdown? Might just kms. They friendship is so rocky and real and I love that. I also love how Kenji wasn't angry when Darius said he had feelings for Brooklynn. He just listened and the maturity they both have is insane. I'm terrified of Brooklynn coming back and causing a love triangle, but honestly I'd be fine if they all just stayed friends if that means these two end up alright. When the brothers brother >>>

Ben and Yaz bestfriendism back everyone cheered. The way they still call each other by their last names actually kinda tears me to pieces. I love how Ben offers advice to Yaz even if it's in his own silly way. They're both so gentle and yet so playful with each other I love. I love that Yaz just let's Ben go on his side quests like yeah he's got it. They didn't get that many scenes but I still love them so dearly anyways.

The return of the king, Sammy and Darius. I know they didn't get that much but they were always one of my fav limited screen time duos. The way they constantly comfort each other just pulls on the heartstrings. Like when they just hugged in the back of the van? And when Sammy raced to hug him again in the warehouse? Ohh I love them. And despite it all Darius trying his best to defend Sammy? Save me older sister-younger brother duo save me.

Kenji got very limited time with Sammy and Yaz and I can't wait to see more cause those just iconic duos, I also would love to see more of Darius and Yaz since they also didn't meet till the very end. I really hope S2 (I'm pretending like it's already confirmed) let's us see more of this, especially Kenji and Yaz please I've missed them so much.

Ohhhhh Ben and Kenji. Benji nation we're kinda so back, living off crumbs is better than living off nothing. Ok but in all seriousness their relationship is so sweet. Ben trying to make Kenji see reason in the beginning, then letting Kenji hold Bumpy's egg cause it was clear that's what he needed at the moment. Then Kenji helping Ben when he got hurt. It's clear they speak in actions, not words. I need more of them like actually I've missed my pookies so bad.

Lastly I wanna talk about Yaz, Sammy, and Ben with Brooklynn. Their flashbacks broke my heart, and it also showcased how different their love and grief for her was. THE FACT THAT WE FINALLY GOT B DUO AND IT'S AFTER SHE'S GONE...my heart shattered. I love how funny and chill they were, we were so robbed of this in jwcc I swear. It's also kinda sad because the implication that Ben introduced Brooklynn to dark jurassic which subsequently lead her down the path that got her "killed"...I'm done. Also the fact that they were so casual implies that Brooklynn would constantly visit him at college which is just so sweet? I can't stand them bye. Sammy casually having Brooklynns old jacket tells me Brooklynn used to come over a lot, perhaps more when they were younger. Also Sammy seemed shocked to go in that room so I might be reading into this too much, but I see it as maybe that was Brooklynns guest room at one point? I am also a firm believer that Sammy dyed her hair pink for Brooklynn. Like Ben, everything just felt so casual and therefore more heart aching. Sammy wants to pretend like she could open that door and Brooklynn would just be there, researching and chilling. I think Yaz's flashback with Brooklynn is the saddest. All these years later and Yaz still confides and trusts Brooklynn to help her through her struggles. It's hard to believe they used to fight so much. Brooklynn is so understanding and kind, and I also find it interesting that it appears that Brooklynn was the one that really kept up with all of them. She wanted to be there for them, and it makes her supposed death that much sadder.

Random things of note:

I have always been a Benjamin denier AND NOW THEY'RE JUST DROPPING THAT OUT OF NO WHERE?? I can't have anything fr. Whatever, I'm still on my Sammy is short for Samantha box sue me.

Bumpy being a mother is so silly goofy but I'm hear for it, just glad she's ok cause if they actually tried to kill her I would've had to intervene.

I really loved the way they let everyone show emotions this season. Like yes of course they showed emotions before, but this felt so much rawer and realer if that makes any sense. Literally all of them cried once throughout the season and I loved that. But not just that, they let them be frustrated, and angry, and happy, and everything in between. KEEP IT UP.

All of the dinosaurs looked amazing, but man the Allosaurus stole the show. Also I loved the white eye, it made us want to view the dinosaur as evil in a way, and I think that was good for putting us in Darius' shoes.

The flashback sequence with Darius and the Allosaurus was so wicked. The team knew how to kill a dramatic moment oh my lord. This is kinda related to the animation too but so many shots were so cinematic. LIKE LIGHTING AND BLOCKING IS BACK PEOPLE. Brooklynn's apartment was gorgeous, Sammy's ranch during the sunset was beautiful. The scene of the explosion behind the T. Rex was iconic. We're so back

I'm so in love with how this show handled grief and not only that, but grief in a group setting. I think this might one of the only pieces of media I've ever seen that really shows how messy found family can be, and that's ok. It's not supposed to perfect, it's only as good as they make it.

Kenji saying dad in Japanese after having that conversation with his father about not being able to speak it, and the implication that he might've learned that word to try and talk with his father? Someone kill me like actually.

Darius wearing yellow agai- [GUNSHOT]

I could go into the color theory with all of their outfits but I won't cause I'm trying to not go that insane (it's not going well)

Ben's fanny back going across his torso, Yaz's iconic bangs.

The fact that Sammy found the map implies that A. Brooklynn came over right before she died and after Darius' confession, and B. That despite everything she still wanted and needed to talk to him about something.

Microbangs lady was actually scary as hell. I really liked her though, she was menacing and interesting. And she clearly valued her relationship with the raptors, I hope we see more of her.

I'm kinda sus of Mateo but I think that's just the trauma of every adult always betraying them. Hope he was chill and we won't see him again pls.

Sammy being such a great fighter is so random but I love it so much?? Like yes let her kick ass in cowboy boots that's my girl.

Where is Darius' necklace? When did he stop wearing it? It is important to the plot or did the animators just find it unnecessary?

Closing thoughts:

Overall WHAT A SHOW!! I had kinda fallen out of love with this show because s4 and s5 were kinda eh. I've never stopped loving the characters though, so this show was like a dream come true. Finally an amazing story to support these amazing characters again.

The character relationships felt at an all time high and I'm so grateful. These characters literally feel like my family too it's kinda bad how much I'm attached. I just love how much they love each other.

The only thing that kinda confused me was the ending. Why did they have to get on the boat right then and there? Why did no one stop the boat before it left? I'm not sure but I'm very excited to find out.

And lastly surprise surprise Brooklynn is alive. Of course I'm happy to know, but I kinda don't like the circumstances. I thought she was gonna be kidnapped or something so there would be a valid reason why she wasn't reaching out. But she's free and is just choosing to hide from the crew, with a good reason I assume. I think this will make her reunion with them more bitter than sweet, but I did just say I love messy so I'm excited anyway.

Y'all my fault I know I have a habit of rambling and making essays but this is just too much fr. Whatever I LOVE TALKING ABOUT WHAT I LOVE LMAO.

[palomahasenteredthechat]

My thoughts on AQPDO

So, did this image appear in the actual film? Yeah, that's what I thought...

I loved it, and I was disappointed by it. This is long, so buckle in. Major Spoilers discussed below.

First, the outstanding: the performances. Holy hell. Lupita. Just...her talent is breathtaking. To sustain that level of intensity without overdoing it, I am simply in awe. Well done. I hope some attention is paid to her performance when award season rolls around. Ditto Alex Wolff. He did a LOT with so little screentime. Djimon too; they all were so, so moving.

Joe was so heartbreaking, and yet Joe's character is one of the things I am disappointed about, because I needed more. Not because I love Joe, but because the story needed it. I know there was a backstory that was cut, and to be honest I don't think that was necessarily a poor decision, but the issue is it was cut late in the creative process, versus in the writing, and that is where the problem is. More on that in a bit, but Joe delivered a sensitive and moving performance, and really understated as well. Not a bit of the cheeky Joe we have come to love so much that also I think pops out in Eddie and Michael occasionally. He was wholly immersed in Eric's reality and his energy complimented Lupita's so well; you can see how much they worked off each other. Dare I say she elevated his game. Another marathon performance and I can imagine how exhausting it must be to sustain that.

Second, Michael Sarnoski, hats off to you sir. The pacing, the way you put the story together visually, your heartbreaking script, just so well done. I hope they release the shooting script because I would love to read it and see the words (or lack of) that Joe and Lupita interpreted so movingly. I wonder if Michael has processed the death of a parent recently, because I felt so much emotion from this story. This film is about accepting the inevitability of death, while going through the five stages of grief, yet seeking to live fully regardless. Trigger warning: DO NOT see this movie if you are going through a rough time with someone who is terminally ill. It will wreck you. But this film is tragically, beautifully human. To deliver that story in a Hollywood big budget action film is a hat trick. Every actor in Hollywood who wants to grow creatively should be calling their agents asking to work with Michael Sarnoski right now.

Also, shout out to the production design people. They completely suspended my disbelief that the characters weren't in New York. Set design, lighting, like I could SMELL New York. Virtual production is getting so fucking good - we're well past the Unreal Wall vistas of the Mandalorian. If you ask yourself how A24 could shoot an Iraq war movie in the pastoral hills of England this is your answer.

Now, the not so good.

Go back and watch the first and second trailers and tell me how many of those moments were in the movie. Answer: barely any.

Map claw hand? We have to get out of the city? Gay couple? Old man turning off engine? Nada.

So, was this all misdirection in the marketing, making the audience think they were coming to see a summer action movie? That's legit, trying to get butts in seats, but I have a strong feeling Michael delivered a very different movie that was hacked up in the testing process. All of those scenes probably made the movie feel 'too long', and they had to cut them back to balance the action sequences with the emotional sequences.

The helicopters overhead spelling out THEY CAN'T SWIM probably came from focus group comments where someone was like 'why didn't the aliens just cross the river and start eating people in New Jersey?' (good point). But I'll bet you they wanted to give Alex Wolff's character a more significant death in regard to Samira's emotional journey, so they reshot the scene with the old man turning off the engine and had Alex do it instead.

Also, I get the strong feeling Eric showed up in the story much earlier in the original cut of the film, and the scene with Map Claw Hand illustrates that. The big question regarding Eric is why this random sad British dude gloms on to Samira and I'm not sure they answer that question in the final cut. Joe absolutely sells it, but it doesn't make sense and I suspect it's because it wasn't written that way.

Also, and call me crazy, but I think Joe is wearing a wig in some parts of this movie and not in other parts. It would make sense if there were significant reshoots based on early testing of the film. I wonder if the Alien Lava Tiki Bar (what...was that actually) scene was added later. Like, I get why Eric went up there- actually I don't, I think Eric would have been focused on getting the medicine back to her and wouldn't have taken a detour up scaffolding to follow I cat at all, but that's just me.

Finally, let's talk about the cat. Both Schnitzel and Nico are exquisite and enjoyable to watch, though how no one got scratched or bitten by a disgruntled feline is a mystery. We had a long debate about whether The Cat Represents Samira's Life, or The Cat is An Angel, or Fate, but ultimately we just went with KITTY and that made the story more enjoyable.

Samira is on a quest, to die on her terms, and once she accepts her fate, she sheds the things that no longer matter to her, and in the process gives Eric a purpose. The scene in the jazz bar was so moving. The final shot is also incredibly moving, and I hope the city was filled with the sound of music one last time, a beautiful elegy accompanying her soul to heaven.

Bravo.

[darkficsyouneveraskedfor]

One Way or Another

Series Masterlist

Warnings: dark elements but nothing too graphic in this one.

Please leave me some feedback either in a reblog or an ask! Likes are always appreciated as well. You know I love yall and hell yeah, you love Professor Steve.

Your last exam is over and you feel a sense of freedom lurking ahead. You can't be certain until you get your grades but with all your effort, you can't imagine you'll fall short. Now you have the whole holiday to recover. Well, you only hope it's refreshing.

Your dorm feels eerily empty so you happily hop at Jensen’s text. He still has a few roommates hanging around so you suggest he comes over. You tidy frantically, trying to hide the remnants of your studious sloth.

When he gets there, you have Netflix mindlessly playing. There's a giddiness to meeting without the lurking stress of classes or exams. No worries, just each other.

You sit on your desk chair as he admires the amiibo collection on your shelf. He sucks his teeth and turns to you with a suspicious leer.

"You didn't tell me had the special edition Link with his mastersword…" he drawls accusatorily.

"Oh, did you ask?" You stick your tongue out.

He rolls his eyes and spins, sitting heavily on your coverlet, the pattern of blue flowers on white, adding an extra dainty effect to your room, a stark contrast to his nerd cave.

"So…" he wiggles his eyebrows as he rubs the bedspread beside him.

"So," you put on a sultry tone and grin, "I thought we could do something special," you stand as seductively as you know how. It feels more awkward than sexy. "A very, very special and intimate thing…"

His eyes round as you come close and put your hands on his shoulders. You feel him tense and flex as you climb onto his lap. You straddle him and run your thumbs along his sideburns. You pull him into a kiss, slipping a taste of your tongue before you part and flutter your lashes.

"Grocery shopping!" You chime and he croaks, stifling a whimper.

"Grocery shopping?" He gulps.

"Uh huh! We can go amd pick out everything we need for or little holiday dinner and then we can come back a play some Mariokart. You said you'd bring your switch right?"

"Mariokart…" he chokes out, shifting under you, hands tentative on your hips.

"And maybe some snuggles," you giggle and lean in, kissing him deeper.

His hand shoot up your back, latching onto your neck as he keeps you from escaping again. He falls back with you but cries out as his teeth sink into your lip. You rip away from him as he touches the back of his skull where he knocked it off the wall.

You dab your lip and laugh, it's painfully fun.

"Hope you don't mind closer quarters," you tease as he pushes himself up.

"With you… the better? Is the shower big?" He winks.

"Alright, alright," you pat his chest and climb off him as you blush, "one thing at a time, let's make a list…"

"Can't we do this tomorrow?"

"The longer we wait, the busier it'll be. And besides, once we're back, I don't wanna go anywhere," you turn back and send him a look, "just you and me  Jen. I wanna enjoy every second."

He huffs and clears his throat, shimmying closer to the edge. He tugs at the top of his jeans and you snatch up your phone as he adjusts his perch on the bed. Maybe it is a bit cruel but you can't help but feel flattered by his squirming. 

📚

Your cart isn’t full. You don’t have much of a budget to stretch and a very economical list. Boxed stuff and turkey legs instead of the full to-do, some veggies you can manage to cook in your measly collection of pots, some cranberry sauce all for you since Jensen doesn’t enjoy it, and some buns.

“Just need to find the perfect pie,” Jensen says as he leans on the handle of the cart, “cherry?”

“Uh, pumpkin, duh.”

“Pumpkin, really?” He scowls.

“Hey, are you gonna shoot down all my suggestions?”

“Who says we can’t compromise… apple?”

“Fine, apple– oh, I forgot some more tea. I’m out of bags. Why don’t you go get in line and I’ll run to get that.”

“I don’t mind, you know I’ll follow you wherever,” he smirks crookedly.

“As cute as you are, I don’t want the checkout to get any more hectic,” you glance over at the dozen lanes open and binging.

“Yeah, I guess you’re right.”

“You can survive without me,” you squeeze his arm, pausing to feel his thick bicep. Oh.

“Went up a weight set,” he gloats as he stands straight and bends his arm to emphasize his muscle, “I’ll let you have a closer look later.”

“Please, tone it down,” you shake your head.

“Says the one feeling me up in the pastry section,” he tuts, “I’ll go and brave the hordes.”

“Right,” you scoff and leave him.

As you turn, you nearly run into another shopper. The place is buzzing with the pre-holiday crowds. You dodge and sneak between two tables of discount sugar cookies.

You head along the dairy section, the refrigeration chilling you through your unzipped jacket, and you weave between carts and bodies. You dip down the coffee section and wait for a couple to move out of the way of the tea. You toe in and peruse the labels, looking for your exact brand and leaf.

You find the tag but the spot is empty. Of course! It’s always gone. You frown and search for an alternative. At the very top shelf, you see the reserves. You peak the purple label of your tea. You just need to reach it.

You stand on your toes and stretch out, leaning to grasp for air. Another hand swoops up and grabs the box with ease. You wince and put your feet flat, glancing over at the helpful stranger as he holds out the tea.

“Thanks, I–”

The box moves out of your reach as you come face to face with Professor Rogers. You take a step back, hitting someone else, only to inch back towards the last person you expected or wanted to see. You almost pout as he gives a thought look to the tea.

“Huh, English Breakfast, I would’ve guessed Earl Grey,” he remarks as his blue eyes flick up.

“Professor,” you utter.

“Got a big dinner planned?” He asks, his tone gristly as his glare bores into you.

“Not really,” you lie and turn back to the shelf, “uh, sorry, I thought… I was just grabbing this.”

You grab the yellow box of cheap orange pekoe but before you can flee, he grips your arm, holding you in place as he leans in. You shudder as his breath fans over you as he bends to nuzzle your hair.

“I know you’re with him. Playing fucking house. Enjoy the game while it lasts,” he growls, “cause I’m not playing any more.”

He lets you go as you tear away from him and you nearly topple over. You sputter and look around for some help. Everyone else is too entranced by their own lists and hunts for the next item.

“Get away,” you hiss.

“Don’t flatter yourself,” he mutters under his breath as he drops the box in his basket, “you’re not worth that much trouble. But one day you’ll be alone. Or you’ll think are…” 

He slowly pivots and puffs out his chest. He lets out a snicker and you see the flicker in his face, like a shadow passing over. It flies away and he reaches past an older woman to grab the bag of sugar she’s straining for.

“Allow me, miss,” he says to her adoring gaze.

You don’t stick around to see the performance. You know what Professor Rogers is and you know that now that he’s shown you, there’s nothing holding him back.

[nalyra-dreaming]

Did Rolin Jones really say/hint that TVL would only be one season? If so, then I think either s3 will be a longer season or theyll have to cut/delay some of the story. We all know that S1 & 2 were originally supposed to be one long season (I assume 15 eps) but were split up bc of covid and budget issues. Well if IWTV needed 15 episodes to be told (adding plots for Daniel and Armand), how the hell can TVL be told in only 8 episodes?? TVL is like 200 pages longer than ITWTV and s3 will not only be focused on the book, but will also have to add new plots for Louis, Armand, and Daniel. Even though Louis isn’t the main character of this season, I imagine he’ll still be in most episodes, like Lestat was. Armand too.

I don’t think breaking up TVL would be any more awkward than it was for IWTV. They’ll probably be moving stuff around anyway. I suppose they could push some of story into QOTD s4- but what parts? Lestat is specifically telling his story in the context of the doc - would the writers want to add more flashbacks while he’s away with Akasha?

The point is I’d love nothing more than for them to take their sweet, sweet time telling Lestat’s story. And I hope they get to do so. What do you think? 😁

I think Rolin is throwing round distractions, tbh. I think they don't want to tell yet how they do it, just like they didn't want to tell that they'd been greenlit for months already.

Since Rolin is on record saying that TVL is the reason why he wanted to do the show in the first place I think it is safe to assume he will do so properly.

I mean, look at what he has done with the first book.

He elevated the story, to art. Elevated the characters to a point where they will continue to be able to interesting, even if the focus shifts. Louis is so much more. Armand is so much more (already). Now Lestat will tell his own story and it is already clear how much conception and ideas have been brought in.

Like, whether one loves or hates the outfits, songs or makeup/looks of Lestat in that teaser and song - but there is a clear vision there, and they nailed that vision. A lot of work has gone into all that already.

They will take their time - they already took their time, too. :)

I really don't see a reason to worry tbh.

[atom-writings]

yandere fyodor dostoevsky x reader drabble

2.6k words ~ a/n sorry for being like hey im gonna post and not posting for 3 days lmao

tw - stalking, invasion of privacy, guns, mentions of death, general yandere tws

It had started small. A random pair of clothing going missing, a door you had closed being left open, the hair on the back of your neck standing straight up as you look into your dark apartment hallway. A nuisance, to be sure, but absolutely nothing to panic over.

But as time passed, it became harder and harder to justify. A door left open became a room left a mess, a stolen piece of clothing became everything you didn't use on a daily basis; and worst of all, a looming hallway became an unexplainable shuffle from your living room in the middle of the night.

Your friend has said it was ghosts. Your mother had said it was your imagination. But after you tidied up your bedroom bookshelf only to find yourself staring into the lens of a camera, you said something else.

When you had run to the police crying months earlier, they had assured you it must've simply been your landlord. So you reported it, finally feeling the weight of that intruder's violations off your shoulders, and moved across town.

With a restraining order keeping you safe, you could finally take a shower without needing to check you were alone. That was until you stepped out of the boiling hot chamber. As you looked over, you nearly collapsed to your knees as your stomach dropped to the floor. In the steamed mirror, someone or something had somehow drawn in the condensation. A simple smiley face.

Absolutely nothing to panic over, right?

That was the tipping point. You could barely change into dry clothing before you ran out of your apartment. The next week you spent at your mother's home had been uneventful. Either the monster hunting you had lost your scent or it didn't dare to invade your family as well.

It didn't matter which. You were safe for now, that was all that mattered. You didn't have to fear the dark and what ghost or ghoul was waiting in it. After weeks of laying there all night, eyes wide and body shaking with fear, any break was taken with a smile.

After a week of good rest, you were more than happy to wake up again. You rolled over to check your phone, as you always did, but your eye was immediately caught by a text message from an unknown number.

In a split second, you were sent back to their tear-filled nights, your hand desperately shaking as you hesitated to open the message. Please, god, let this be nothing to panic about. Please.

You clicked. It felt like it took minutes for your phone to show the message.

“Do you really believe staying there is any safer than your apartment?“

Tears spilt over your cheeks as your fingers hovered shakily over your keyboard. You needed to tell whoever this is to leave you alone, that they were torturing you, that you wanted nothing more than for them to be sent to hell-

But before you could even type a single letter, the app closed. You shot up, whining in absolute desperation as you tried to reopen it. When it finally did, the message was gone. Gone in a second, like it was something you weren't supposed to see. Like something you didn't see.

The next police visit was more helpful. Seeing your absolute hysterics, their hand was forced. You returned reluctantly to your apartment, but only with the captain's promise of someone watching all the entrances to your home.

And for the next week, none of those entrances were breached. Your home was as quiet as it had been before all of this madness.

So the police had left with the assurance that no one had been stalking you. You wish that conclusion comforted you. But you knew that whatever had been haunting your life would return soon.

You had been right, of course. The next morning you awoke to a post-it note stuck to your otherwise empty fridge front.

”How little do you think of me? I would think that your friends would have had the budget for better disguises.“

Your face didn't even change as your eyes became wet with tears. The dull ache of fear rang in your chest but failed to force you to your knees anymore.

It was nothing to panic over.

Sure, you had discovered more cameras. Your things seemed to be purposely misplaced to frustrate you. There were more notes, rarely with anything written on them. At first, that part confused you.

But then you understood. Whoever this was didn't want to communicate with you. They wanted you to know that they could, though. They were purposefully withholding the relief of knowledge. They wanted you to want to know about them. About how to end this. And they wouldn't let you.

But after half a year of this endless torture, you weren't afraid anymore. You were angry. You would rip their Post-it notes up and scatter them across the floor. No, you couldn't let them have that power over you anymore.

That was what you thought to yourself as you bought a pistol. Small, easy to hide, not too expensive, but capable of packing a punch if you knew what you were doing. Or at least, if you were convinced of what you were doing. Which, you were.

The first night you hid your gun under your pillow, your monster under the bed failed to show up. The apartment was deathly silent once again.

Good, you thought. Better to be well rested when I aim next time.

The next night, they showed. Around midnight, you were awoken from your tired limbo by the sound of faint footsteps in the kitchen. The sound, which used to terrify you, now forced a smile to crawl itself onto your face.

You grabbed the gun, gingerly disabling the safety. You had loaded the pistol the moment you got it, so there was no noise to be made there. As their footsteps wandered into your living room, you followed. Your presence was no louder than a mouse's, your feet barely making contact with the carpet.

When you finally entered your living room, you saw them.

The night sky filtered through the window directly behind them, silhouetting them but leaving you completely exposed in the cool moonlight. They were large, that was the first thing you noticed. The second thing you noticed was the hair standing up on your arms once again.

You bristled, a dark, maniacal smile on your face before your predator.

You couldn't see their eyes. But you knew that they had seen you as well.

With not a single sound, you raised your pistol.

Their posture straightened. Perhaps in fear. Perhaps in surprise.

But that didn't matter now.

You braced for the earsplitting bang, your ears already ringing in preparation. You closed your eyes.

You pulled the trigger.

Click.

You opened your eyes, the ringing subsiding enough to hear the soft chuckling of the creature before you. It sounded like a mix of chattering, a symphony of strings discordantly orchestrated to create some disgusting imitation of human joy.

Click. Click. Click.

No, please, God, no. This can't be happening.

Click. Click. Click.

The chattering grew louder as your hands began to shake, tears rolling down your cheeks as you hit the side of your pistol. No, no, no, this can't be happening, you thought.

This nightmare was supposed to be over. This creature should be dead. Yet they still stood before you. Slowly, you looked up from your gun to look them in where their eyes should be. Then you recognized why they had adjusted themself. Not terror, not panic.

Anticipation.

And because of that, you couldn't do anything as they walked backwards, exiting through your window back into the freezing night.

The next few weeks weren't terrifying. No, it was too late to be scared. You learned to sleep through the knocking on the walls. You started expecting things to be misplaced, for your phone to be hijacked, for everything in your life to go horribly wrong.

It was no longer anything to panic about. It was mind-numbing. Nowhere was safe, and you were forever trapped in some predator's cage. And that monster couldn't even give you the simple mercy of seeing the bars.

You wished this endless horror movie would end. You didn't care how, or why, you just... wanted some conclusion.

On a dreary, rainy day, that wish would be fulfilled.

Throughout this entire ordeal, you had learned how to continue your normal routine like nothing was wrong. On that day, you had been doing just that. You had gotten off of a particularly exhausting day of work, and like always, decided to visit your favourite coffee shop near your apartment.

You ordered your favourite drink quickly, taking a seat next to the wide windows of the small cafe. The rain pattered against the window softly, complimenting the dull atmosphere of the day. But despite the desolate weather, tens of people walked by the store every minute.

You watched as they passed, tracking the more interesting ones with tired eyes. Occasionally, some would walk without umbrellas, holding their bags over their heads. At that, you couldn't help but chuckle. Even less often, one or two people would enter the cafe as well. You didn't pay much mind to those, as they always left within a few minutes.

You had always been easily entranced by crowd-watching, you thought as you sipped your coffee. It was easy for the entire world to fall away if you wanted it to.

You were startled out of your thoughts as the metal chair on the other side of your table squealed against the wood floor unpleasantly.

In a motion that took hours, you turned to look in front of you.

You didn't need to see their face. You didn't need to hear their voice. You didn't need to see their silhouette once again.

You knew.

The stranger took a moment to speak.

“I've always found first introductions to be difficult,” The man sighed. He spoke with a thick Russian accent, his voice like a perfectly tuned instrument.

Your eyes seemed to blur over as you took in the sight of him. His hair, dark as a raven's, framed his face with loose strands that stuck to his pale skin as if they were wet. His outfit was well tailored, with detailed embroidery; yet showed its age in its formerly pristine fabric hanging loosely off his light skin, light discolouring staining parts of his large trench coat.

He cocked his head to the side, “I am glad that I waited to talk to you face to face.” You struggled to respond, your voice caught in your throat as you looked upon the face of your torturer.

He gazed at you hungrily, his deep violet eyes blank as a corpse's while still being able to dissect you without any effort.

“Why?” You struggled to say, every part of your body telling you to run, to scream, to fight, to finally murder the man in front of you-

But you knew you couldn't. No, it would be a futile effort. Just as everything else had.

He sighed contentedly, taking a sip of his tea and looking out the window for a second.

”I believe timing is an important factor in any relationship.”

You stared at him dumbfounded, struggling to believe that this was really happening. No, this was a dream, another horrible dream about this horrible man.

Slowly, you joined him in looking out the window. Looking upon his young but shallowed face made you feel as if you were going to hurl. Looking out the window could blur out the stranger sitting in front of you, couldn't it?

”Who are you?“ You choked out, fighting back the tears that pricked at your eyes as you tried to ignore the reality before you.

You didn't dare to turn back, but you felt the burn of his eyes on you once again.

“My name is Fyodor.”

For some reason, that made your heart drop to the floor. No, you knew nobody by that name. This man was truly a stranger, a stranger that had been inside your home, viewing you more intimately than anyone had ever done so before. And you didn't even know his name.

“Why... why are you doing this?” You asked softly, looking down at your lap as the tears began to stain your cheeks.

“Don't worry, that shall be made clear very soon.”

“What?”

You jolted up, realizing the gravity of what he had just said. And as your eyes raised, you were greeted by the sight of two large men clad in black sitting at the table next to yours. You frantically looked back to the man in front of you. Fyodor was frail, you could tell from the way his button-up hung off his chest. These men... were anything but. They... they would have no problem handling you.

“It's quite a dreary day, isn't it?” He said, setting down his cup of tea gently, “Not quite as picturesque as I had planned, but God must have known better.”

You didn't dare to respond, crying weakly into your hands.

”My apologies, my dear,“ his tone was even, ”But I do believe our time is up.“

He stood up, clearly not bothered by your pathetic form before him. As he stood up, the men clad in black joined, standing next to your table.

”You- You can't! Someone will see- Someone will call the cops-” You cried out, looking up at him with red eyes.

He cut you off with a comforting sigh. Or at least, it should have been comforting. Yet all you could feel was absolute terror, your body wracked with chills greater than you'd ever felt.

”Oh, I don't think anyone here will be able to call the cops,“

You shuddered, ”W-What do you mean by that?“

”It is unlikely that anyone besides us will leave this cafe.“ He said calmly, his tone completely disassociated from the horrifying thought he had put in your head. He nodded back to the men behind him, and they both left the table.

“You're... you're going to have them kill these people?” You ask quietly, but you truly didn't want the answer.

In response, he chuckled, the sound worse than the first time you had heard it.

“No, no. Of course not. Why would we waste precious ammo? No, I'll be killing them,” He stated, his face contorted into a smile that made your skin crawl.

”Stand up for me, won't you?“ He continued.

You could hear the sound of your heart beating against your chest as you struggled to stand, your knees weak. He placed a hand on the small of your back, his touch feeling like spiders crawling up under your shirt.

He started to guide you towards the exit gently before you stopped walking. His head turned towards yours, stopping as well.

“One last thing... please,”

“Of course, my dear.”

“This... this has all been just a... a game to you, right?”

He smiled, “Yes, yes it has.”

“Did I play it well?” You asked, finally looking him in his blood-churning eyes.

”Oh, absolutely,“ He said with a quiet laugh, opening the door for you to leave. In front of the cafe, a black SUV was parked, with another black-clad man standing to escort you inside the car.

“You played it perfectly, my love. You definitely proved to me that I have made the correct choice.“

You didn't struggle as you entered the car. No, you didn't cry as you heard the screams of the people left inside the cafe.

No, it was absolutely nothing to panic over.

[lolirockenjoyer]

Lolirock season 3 MUST HAVE (in my opinion)

1. More Lyna, Carissa, Izira, Jodan and Lev (if he's alive)

I would like to see them helping the princesses and I hope will know about Calix/Borealis and Lyna and Carissa family more

2. MEPHISTO MUST BE ALIVE😭

It's a thing which every lolirock fan want so I have to add it. Sorry but I can't imagine lolirock without Mephisto and I can't imagine season 3 without happy ending. If it turns out he's really dead I will be so fucking dissappointed

3. Auriana and Talia parents

We saw picture of Auriana's parents but WHAT'S WITH TALIA'S PARENTS??

4. Natahaniel will find out about Iris, Talia, Auriana origin and about Ephedia

I honestly can't believe it won't happen. I mean it's actually impossible because if Iris wants to save Nathaniel, she has to tell him. Btw I really hope the princesses will escape with Nathaniel on Ephedia and the rest of the season will be there

5. The princesses will try to stop or help Praxina

I know, they don't have to do it but I can realize like Iris truly wants to help her or "fix her" (we literally see that in 'forget you'). I have a lot of potencial endings for s3 and the vision of princesses kill Praxina or smth like that is tragic for me. Please give her a redemption, give e24s2 meaning in the show😭

6. WHO TF IS BANES??? (And Zanavian)

He's not just a tiger and everybody knows that

7. New songs, maybe new characters

I'm pretty sure we will get some new songs but Idk if budget let team give us some new characters but I'm just telling it would be cool and it will show that is something new yk

8. TWINS BACKSTORY

RAAAAAAAH I WAIT FOR IT. I'm also sure it will be show because teamlolirock said that in one of their post on tumblr. I want to know who they are, where they live, who their parents were and why they worked with Gramorr. I also would adore the twins parents canon picture or anything like that

9. Praxina angst

I NEED A LOT OF ANGST. I need to see Praxina's suffering and deterioration of mental condition. I love her so much, she and her brother are my favorite character I just love angst so much

10. If Mephisto surivive I want some cute moment between twins, we just didn't get a lot of them :((

11. Gramorr's backstory

I need it more than my life. He's so interesting character tbh I want to know why and how he started with black crystal

12. I would like to see one (or even both) of the twins ends up with one of the princesses (no, I didn't mean Auristo and Praxalia, why?)

13. PRAXINA AND TALIA PAST?

They had common past and you can't prove me wrong

14. Explaining Morgaine and Gramorr relationship

I will DIE without it

15. And The most important. I know it's kids cartoon but lolirockers grew up for years and I hope it will be more umm mature? If you know what I mean

[mynameisnotfiveweenies]

Red String - Katsuki Bakugou x fem!reader

Summary = When you turn 16, a red string wraps around your finger and leads you to your soulmate. What happens when it is the person who has bullied you and your brother, Izuku, for years?

Soulmates were amazing, knowing that this person was made for you, made to be with you for life. In theory, it was like a dream come true. In practice, maybe not so much.

Well, maybe if it was someone else rather than Katsuki Bakugou it would have been easier.

Me and Katsuki grew up together. Me and Izuku are twins which meant being around Katsuki. We were all close for a while until he got his quirk. I got my quirk around the same time but Izuku did not. He was quirkless. Katsuki did not like that. I did not like how Katsuki had turned sour towards Izuku. This lead to many arguments and burns from Katsuki whenever I stood up to him.

Then, suddenly, Izuku had a quirk. It was weird. He had always been small but ever since he helped Katsuki when that villain attack happened, he began training like crazy. He joined me on runs, lifting weights like I've never seen.

We went to the entrance exams together and he, impossibly, had a quirk. I confronted him and he told me about All For One. It was hard to understand at first but it made him happy so I did not question it too much. He will finally be the hero he has always been destined to be.

Now, when the quirks began to come a thing, so did soulmates. When you turn 16, suddenly a red string appears on your little finger. The end of the string connects you to your soulmate. It was an incredible phenomenon, much like the quirks. This meant divorce was almost 0% and the population was better off.

I felt ... strange about the soulmate situation. I was excited at the prospect of having someone who was made for you but it was scary thinking it could be anyone. It could be a murder, a creep - it could be absolutely any one and I had no control over it.

Second year at UA came around quicker than I could ever imagine. Time seemed to move faster and before I knew it, it was April and Katsuki's birthday was fast approaching.

Throughout the years, Katsuki has grown and even became my friend. It was hard. He was mean and confused about Izuku's sudden quirk but when he found out about One For All, he changed. He apologised to Izuku for everything and then apologised to me. It was hard for me to forgive him but I did it.

Now, his sixteenth birthday was a few days away and I was scrambling around the mall to find something. He is impossible to buy for. What do you get someone who has everything he wants?

I decided to go by myself to get him a gift, needing all the time to really think about it. When I asked him what he wanted he told me to 'not bother'. But, I wanted to. When we were children I used to make him a card every year and wanted to make up for all the missed years.

After four hours, I managed to find him something.

When I walked through the dorm, I ran into him and quickly hide the bag behind my back.

His eyes narrowed suspiciously. "What's that?"

I repressed my smile the best I could (not at all). "Nothinggg." I sang.

He slowly began to approach me and I backed up.

He snarled, "It better not have been expensive."

It was a bit out of my budget but he didn't need to know what. I rolled my eyes, "Just appreciate the present, grumpy."

I bopped his nose before running off into my room, successful in hiding it.

At dinner, everyone was asking him how he felt about finding out his soulmate. He blew up, so no one asked again.

It was weird, to think Katsuki could be soulmates with anyone. It could be a random stranger off the street, it could be someone in our class. Every time I thought about it, my chest felt very tight. I didn't want to think too much about it.

His birthday came and I had everyone help cook a big breakfast.

Katsuki came down, after Izuku got him out of bed and looked sheepishly at the effort we made.

I took the plate of waffles and brought them over to him. He was sat, waiting.

He looked over to me as I approached and the face he made almost made me drop the plate. His mouth was partly open, his eyes slightly wide and he looked at my hands holding the waffles. I admit, it was a lot of waffles but the reaction was something I was not expecting.

I smiled as I put the plate in front of him, his eyes did not leave the plate until I put it in front of him and then his eyes went up to my face. "Happy birthday Kat!" I cheered, clapping my hands together.

He did not look away from my face but his face spread into a small smile, "You did all of this?"

I shrugged, "Everyone helped."

He looked around at the class surrounding the tables, all tucking in. "Thank you." He said it quietly but I heard.

He spent the rest of his birthday with Kirishima and his family (they went to a concert I believe). At the end of the day, we all gathered in the boys living room. The TV was on but no one was watching it.

I sat on the floor, chatting until I heard Kaminari talk to Katsuki.

"So?" He asked excitedly. "Do you know your soulmate?"

Katsuki was silent for a while. Luckily my back was to him or he would realise I was listening. "Nah, it goes too far to follow it."

The breath I didn't know I was holding released. I didn't know how I felt. I was relived it wasn't someone I knew but to know he had someone and could go find them whenever he wanted filled me with a strange sense of dread.

Tsu must have read my face as she asked me if I was okay. I snapped out of it and nodded, maybe a bit too enthusiastically to be believable. "Yeah, I just think I'm gonna go to bed."

I got up, said goodnight to everyone and began to walk. When I got to elevator to go up to the girls floor, the sound of someone walking towards me made me look up.

Katsuki was dressed in an all black tracksuit and walked towards me with his hands in his pockets.

"Hey," I greeted.

"Hey, you okay?" He asked, looking down at me.

I nodded, a small smile on my face. "I'm okay, just tired." As the elevator dinged I suddenly remembered. "Oh! I didn't give you your present!"

I grabbed his arm and dragged him into the elevator. He opened his mouth to protest, "Come to my room and I'll give it to you." He was quiet then so I pressed to button to go up.

I asked him about the concert and he spoke animatedly about the rap artist I have only heard coming from his bedroom but he seemed to have a good time.

"Okay," I said, opening the door. "Sit and don't move."

"Yes ma'am." He said mockingly but my stomach whirled anyway.

I retrieved the box from my bedside table and sat beside him. He looked down curiously.

I was suddenly nervous, what if it was too much or he didn't like it? Too late.

I gave him the box. He took it and then opened it, looking down with wide eyes.

"I saw it and knew I had to get you one."

He let out a breath before pulling it out of the box. It was a silver dog tag. When I saw it in the mall, I thought it was something he would actually wear. I got it engraved. Katsuki Bakugou and underneath Dynamight.

He read it and looked at it for a while before turning to me, clutching it. "Thank you."

I smiled, "You like it?"

He scoffed, "Its perfect."

He pulled it over his head where the tag rested against his chest. I reached over, touched the tag and hummed. "It suits you like I thought it would." I let it go back down and when I looked up, his eyes had not left my face.

I swallowed nervously.

"Must be weird now you know where your soulmate is right?"

His mouth parted, still looking at me. "Yeah..."

I was the first one to break eye contact and then he cleared his throat. "I better go..."

He stood up, making his way to my door. I followed him and leant against the door as he hesitated outside.

He turned and wrapped his arms around my head. My chest, for what felt like the hundredth time that day, clenched. I wrapped my arms around his waist. I can't remember the last time I hugged Katsuki. He was hard with the muscles that were hiding under his hoodie but he smelt of caramel. My head rest on his chest.

We stayed like that for a minute before he let go. "Thank you, for everything." He said before quickly leaving.

After that day, I could not stop thinking about him.

No matter how many times I told myself it was futile and stupid, I couldn't help the crush that was fast forming. Katsuki did not help either. He would hold open the door for me, offer to partner up with me in training and help me when it came to my turn to cook dinner.

He has another soulmate for Christ's sake but that did not stop my heart. I knew it could never happen, my birthday was three months away and soon I would also know who my soulmate is but I felt myself fall deeper and deeper.

One night, all of our class were having a movie night and I sat beside Katsuki. My mouth was already dry being so close to him and he did not help by putting his arm around me. He said it was to be more comfortable so I accepted it. Halfway through the movie, I rested my head against his shoulder before realising what I was doing. I quickly lifted my head up and whispered a 'sorry'. Luckily the room was so dark or else the whole class would see how red my face.

"I like it." Katsuki whispered and I blushed even harder. It was a sentence I never thought would come out of his mouth and it made me feel all sorts of things I shouldn't.

Bravely, I rested my head back down and his arm come down and his fingers began to draw circle's on my bare arm almost unconsciously.

I went back to my room that night with my heart racing out of my chest and my thoughts racing even more.

Mine and Izuku's birthday was fast approaching. We decided to spent it with mom, with Katsuki and Uraraka coming round later in the evening for dinner.

Uraraka's birthday was before ours and she found out Izuku was her soulmate. She told him almost immediately and they've been together ever since. Everyone knew they would be but the confirmation is always nice.

I woke up at home on my sixteenth birthday and immediately looked down.

On my right hand pinky was a thin string wrapped around it. I followed it and it went out of the window, going further than I could see. I looked out longingly, wondering who was at the end.

I went to touch the string but it fell through my fingers, I knew I could not touch it but the feeling was weird.

Physically, I felt the same. I could almost forget about the string if it did not appear every time I lifted up my hand.

I kept staring at it, even at my birthday breakfast.

"Oh, leave it Y/N, you'll know who they are soon enough." Mum scolded.

The rest of the day was spent at the mall and visiting family until it was time for dinner.

Mr Aizawa was bringing Katsuki and Uaraka and the door rang at six o'clock exactly.

Mum got the door and I stood anxiously behind her. I didn't know why I was so anxious but it made me shift on my feet a lot.

"Hello sweethearts, come in! Come in!"

Izuku ran to greet Uraraka and I looked up at Katsuki, smiling until I noticed something on his hand.

I looked down and the world seemed to stop.

Around his pinky on his right hand was a piece of thin red string. But, only soulmates can see each others string, I thought until it stuck. Oh my god.

I followed the string with my eyes and it went all the way to wrap around my own pinky.

I looked in between the string for a while before looking up at Katsuki, my mouth open.

He looked at me with his eyebrows furrowed. "Y/N..."

I was suddenly full of anger. I did not say a word but turned around and stomped up to my room.

Why didn't he tell me? After all this time, he decided to hide it. Did he not want me as a soulmate?

Angry tears welled in my eyes, he clearly did not want me that's why he hid it for so long.

"Y/N, wait, please." I heard Katsuki follow me but I reached my room quick. I slammed the door, fully crying now.

He knocked on my door lightly. "Please, let me explain."

My hands shook as I rested my head against the door. "There's nothing to explain." I growled out.

I get why he wouldn't want me. I'm needy, I'm angry and I'm not the prettiest. Someone like Katsuki should have a model for his soulmate.

He knocked again, louder. "Please, Y/N. I don't want to ruin your birthday."

Too late, I thought.

I sighed, wiped my eyes (not that it would make any difference) and opened the door.

Katsuki stood slumped and look at me with caution. I stepped aside, and let him in.

I closed the door behind him and turned with my arms crossed my chest. "If you don't want me.." I took a big breath, "We'll just have to find a way to make it work."

The thought was horrible. My whole life I was told your soulmate was suppose to complete you, the other side of a coin and the thought of losing that fantasy terrified me.

"No, thats not what I want just," Katsuki sighed before rubbing a hand over his face and sitting on my bed. "I wanted to tell you, I did. It's just harder than I thought. I didn't know if you'd want me. I wasn't exactly nice to you for years and although we're friends now, a soulmate is completely different."

I was quiet and Katsuki continued.

"Y/N, I've," He sighed again, looking concerned. "I've always liked you, I was mean to you because I liked you too much and because you would stand up to me."

My voice seemed to have disappeared and I couldn't do anything but listen.

"Over the past year, I've liked you more and more and then on my birthday I was scared who my soulmate would be. I wanted it to be you and when I saw you, I saw the string and everything just made sense. You're so beautiful and so funny and so kind I just," He hung his head. "I don't deserve someone like you. That's why I didn't tell you."

I was quiet, taking in his words. It made sense but I couldn't help the nagging insecurity. It did not make sense to me how he could possibly like me and how he doesn't think he deserves me. Katsuki could have anyone he wanted, he got asked out all the time whenever we could go out but always denied them. I thought it was because he was too focused on hero work but maybe not...

I looked at him, his face was turned down as if he was too scared to look at me. I could see then, in the way he looked so small and vulnerable that he was telling the truth.

Katsuki never spoke about his feelings so if he has now, it must be genuine.

"Okay," He looked up, his eyes hopeful. "I believe you."

He smiled wider than I have ever seen.

I knew that this moment was when my life was going to change forever, but I didn't mind.

A/N = Hi! I know I haven't wrote anything in a very long time. I have just finished my first year of university so now I have more time to write! I am taking requests so feel free to send them in! <3

[russellsppttemplates]

Hii🫶🏻 So for the blurb night I was thinking about a wedding planning with Lance. He wants to take part in everything even if it means staying up late after a race night just to decide the flowers and cakes and sets absolutely no budget as he wants the teader to have absolutely the best day🥺 like imagine going to cake tasting eith them and choosing the menu. Uhh, to be a wag😩

"Please, Lance. We have to pick a cake! We have already been to so many bakeries and we are running out of time and offers - not to mention the money I'm sure this is costing despite you telling me it doesn't matter", you sighed.

"I just want to make sure you have the best day ever and you have all you've dreamed of", Lance said as he sat at the table with you after he alerted the bakeshop owner you had arrived for the tasting.

"Lance, I love you, and you know I'm not lying when I say this - my dream is spending the rest of my life with you, and yes, I want us to have our perfect day and for that we need to make decisions!", you hissed slightly.

"I have a feeling you'll like these a lot", Lance winked as the owner started bringing out the different cakes, explaining what was in each one of them before letting you take a bite.

"Vanilla is always a safe option, I feel like that's something everyone likes", you reasoned as you tasted the sponge, "but red velvet has been my favourite", you tapped the plate.

"Did you like this", he checked the label, "fresh lemon one? I think it tastes nice and with the wine and champagne we picked out it would be a nice contrast", Lance offered.

"I did - I'm torn between these two", you pouted.

"Is there something I can help you with?", the older man said as he approached the table, noticing you were already discussing options.

"Actually, yes - would you be able to make a cake with two flavours? We really like these two and perhaps there's a way to make it happen", your soon to be husband said.

"Yes, we can do different layers, but that would have a different price point than the ones we discussed earlier, let me just get the price table for you", he said.

"No need for that - we've settled on it then", Lance stated.

The owner went back to the counter to gather the forms so you could make the order while Lance took another bite of the cake, "before you go at me, it's what we both wanted and now we'll have a great cake - that's all I care about", Lance smiled, knowing the thoughts going on your mind.

"You're lucky you're charming like that", you teased, kicking his chin playfully and smiling at him.

.

"I'm home, I'm home!", Lance said as he walked through the door, leaving his backpack on the floor along with his shoes before he met you in the dining room table, "hey love", he kissed the top of your head and sat down after he greeted your mother, his mother and his sister.

"You didn't have to rush home like that - wasn't there traffic?", you wondered.

"I took a short cut - I didn't want to you to this alone", Lance said as he looked at the different arrangements.

"Hey, little brother, Hi! You've greeted me so I'm sure you noticed your fiancée wasn't alone", Chloe lightly swatted the nape of his neck as everyone laughed.

"So these are the ones we decided on after the Monaco GP", you pointed to the five options you and Lance picked out in your hotel bed over some room service after the race, "and they also sent those two - I think they're new and they thought we should consider them".

"I really like the idea of the dry flowers for your bouquet and the bracelet things for the girls and for the guys to have one in the pocket as well", Lance noted as he looked at the arrangements up close.

"It's called a corsage and a boutonniere", Chloe teased.

"As I was saying", he sent her a side eye, "maybe we could match them to the tables so it doesn't look to different", he checked, "what was your idea?".

"I like your idea, Lance, perhaps this one here?", you mother held the arrangement she recalled would be the most similar to the dried flowers you had already picked out. Lance had been on FaceTime for that meeting since the team needed him for Testing, so he knew some details but not all of them.

"Yes, I think so, maybe with those because they also have the purple and brick red tones", you agreed.

"I also like the idea of having some of the little flowers on my suit if that's okay", Lance mused as he picked a few of the loose ones on the table, fiddling with an elastic as he made a quick accessory for him, "does this boutonniere look nice?", he pointed it at his sister as he made fun of the word.

(Thank you for sending this in ✨️)